Born in Uruguay, Gabriela Hearst grew up on her family’s 17,000-acre ranch, Santa Isabel in Paysandu, surrounded by horses, cattle and sheep, where the notion of luxury meant things were beautifully crafted and made to last. Gabriela attended the British School in Montevideo and studied Communications at the O.R.T. University of Uruguay.
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About Gabriela Hearst
After more than a decade spent in design in New York, Gabriela honored her family’s heritage through the launch of her eponymous label in Fall 2015, as well as taking over the operations of her father’s ranch in Uruguay.
Gabriela wanted to create a brand that reflects a slower pace and process: where things are made with care and detail, where tradition is more important than trend, where there is a purpose to every piece.
Gabriela’s commitment is to make a strong and modern collection without compromising her ethics and key values, taking into consideration where materials come from and who is making them: luxury with a conscience or in other words, “honest luxury”.
Each garment is an item into which Gabriela can pour her desire—made with impeccable construction and uncompromising, noble materials. Together, they tell a story of the places she loves that made her who she is: Uruguay and New York. Jackets and coats are lined with this special silver fabric that prevents cell phone radiation from reaching women’s reproductive organs. Aloe-treated linen, a much more complete fiber than cotton because it absorbs less water than cotton and at the same time you can eat the flax seed so it has additional nutritional values. Combining the utilitarian and the beautiful, she wanted to design long-lasting garments that hold memories for the woman who wears them. She is a real woman, alluring and powerful, but there is much action in her life and these clothes are her uniform, her armor.
Gabriela Hearst on the Energy the Sustainability Movement Needs
In 2016, Gabriela Hearst introduces Handbags. In the interest of maintaining her values of sustainability, she decides to produce the bags in limited quantities and available via request only.
In February 2017, Gabriela Hearst presents its first runway show using about 30% deadstock fabrics, eliminating the use of plastic from both Front and Back-Of-House and repurposing all the elements of the show.
The company introduces TIPA flexible packaging, which offers bio-based alternatives to traditional plastic packaging that are fully compostable within six months.
In July of that same year, Gabriela visited rural Turkana County, Kenya, with Save the Children upon learning east Africa was facing its worst drought in 70 years, putting 20 million people at risk of famine. After witnessing the unfairness of climate change first- hand with mass screening for malnutrition, water scarcity, complete loss of animal stock, a currency and a source for vital survival, Gabriela Hearst pledges $600K for funds needed to cover the needs of 1,000 families in the area she visited. So for the first time ever, over a single week, the handbags were available to purchase with its retail partners Net- A-Porter and Bergdorf Goodman. The money was raised in 2 days..
In 2018, Gabriela Hearst opened her first flagship store, located on Madison Avenue in the Carlyle House, a New York institution. Following her mission on sustainability, the store was built without synthetics or chemicals, using natural, non-treated reclaimed oak, built-in light occupancy sensors throughout the space to reduce electrical consumption. 90% of the material waste generated during the construction process was recycled.
By April 2019, Gabriela Hearst achieved the goal to be plastic-free for both front and back of house with the use of compostable TIPA packaging and introducing recycled cardboard hangers.
In June, Gabriela Hearst launches its Menswear collection at its own retail stores, as well as Mr. Porter and Bergdorf Goodman.
